Kathryn Newton In Talks For “Detective Pikachu”

Kathryn Newton (“Big Little Lies,” “Supernatural,” “Lady Bird”) is in negotiations for the female lead role opposite Justice Smith (“The Get Down”) in “Detective Pikachu” which is Universal, Toho and Legendary’s first live-action movie adaptation of the “Pokemon” franchise.

Detective Pikachu is a self-styled investigator who befriends a human boy and together they solve mysteries. Newton will play Lucy, a sassy journalist who goes on an adventure with the pair.

Smith just wrapped a reportedly intense session of reading and testing actresses who would appear opposite him with the likes of Natalia Dyer, Haley Lu Richardson and Katherine Langford also in the running.

Filming begins mid-January in London with Alex Hirsch and Nicole Perlman writing the latest draft. Pokemon, initially a game as well as an anime before it became a massive franchise, sees players acting as trainers who collect cute but powerful monsters called Pokemon in order to compete in battle tournaments.